Kylie and Stephen were married last fall at a private residence in Macks Creek, Missouri. All of the couple's 130 guests were seated outside for the ceremony on top of square bales of hay, covered in quilts lent by friends and family. The bride walked down the aisle in a beautiful strapless lace gown and brown leather cowboy boots, wearing her grandmother's original 1940s engagement ring, her great grandmother's wedding band, and a pearl necklace and pearl bracelet, each borrowed from two of her bridesmaids. The flowers only added warmth to this rustic wedding, in warmer fall shades of orange and yellow, often mixed with cooler lavender florals. Kylie wanted all of the bouquets to be wrapped with burlap and twine, and fastened with buttons, and simple, fresh herbs were used for the groomsmen boutonnieres.
At the ceremony, there was an amazing display using enormous round bales of hay, with the couple's moss covered monogram and tall chalkboards (homemade using wood and chalk paint!) displaying all of the ceremony details in lieu of traditional paper programs. To acknowledge lost loved ones and other marriages in each of the families, there were old windows (which they got from one of their bridesmaids who recently had her windows replaced) which displayed photographs and special dates. Guests were directed to and from the ceremony and reception areas with a wooden sign made by the bride's father. "After the wedding, my dad replaced the wedding signs and put up all the towns where my brother, sister, and I live, with arrows pointing toward their direction, and then he made a sign labeled, "Home" pointing to the house. It made me tear up when I saw it coming home for Christmas," said Kylie.
There were several other DIY details, which the bride, Kylie kindly shared with me. All of the vintage glass jars and containers used for the centerpieces were borrowed from Kylie's grandmother, who had collected them over the years. Her parents live on the Niagua River, and so she chose to use one of their canoes as the gift table. Kylie's dad made all of their wooden cake stands for the dessert table, made from old cedar and oak trees. The cake stands held fifteen individual cakes of all flavors, shapes and sizes, which were all baked (with love) by the mother of the groom. Kylie and Stephen also chose to serve a special dessert they typically enjoy on the holidays called a "Dirty Maiden," which is a Norwegian dish made with roasted graham crackers, chunky applesauce and homemade whipped cream! YUM! At the end of the evening, guests left with small jars of homemade relish, made by Kylie's dad using fresh veggies from their family garden.
Another DIY detail that the bride was especially proud of? The bathrooms! "This may seem weird, but I really liked our bathrooms! We had to get porta potties, which I was nervous about...We used my dad's marquis canvas tent to cover the women's potty, and put our old antique dresser with mirror in there for the ladies to primp. Plus, we placed one of our old antique rugs on the floor with the couple of chairs. We hid the boys potty behind a couple of big round hay bales [labeled with a wooden 'His' sign]," said Kylie. Hey! Boys don't spend much time in the john, right?
Rustic Fall Wedding with Creative DIY Ideas - Vendors & Credits
Photographer: Andrea Nigh Photography
Venue: Private residence in Macks Creek, Missouri
Caterer: Vidies Catering
Floral Designer: Artistry in Bloom
DJ: Complete Music and Video
Wedding Cakes: Mother of the groom
Transportation: Safe Shuttle Bus Service
Rentals: All Events Rental
Wedding Stationery: Bride
Wedding Dress: San Patrick
Bridal Accessories: Corral Boots via Cavenders , borrowed pearl necklace and bracelet and earrings via Dillards
Bridesmaids Attire: After Six
